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It turns out that two federal CoA judges are alums of my high school. It's a small private school with a pretty involved alumni community, so I was able to reach out to them through our alumni relations director, and they both agreed to speak with me and offer advice throughout the clerkship application process.

I seem to remember reading here before that it is generally considered poor form to speak with a judge about the process, and then not to apply to said judge. But how far does this go? Both judges are feeders, while I am borderline top-10% at a lower T14, so while I would obviously jump at the opportunity to work with either judge, I would rather save their time and my application slot if I am not going to be remotely competitive. What's the protocol here? Do I just not apply given how far out of their usual range I seem to fall? Do I just ask straight-up whether they would prefer for me to apply? Even if I can't clerk for them, I would still like to maintain a positive relationship with these judges so am looking to avoid any unforced errors here.

Anonymous User wrote:It turns out that two federal CoA judges are alums of my high school. It's a small private school with a pretty involved alumni community, so I was able to reach out to them through our alumni relations director, and they both agreed to speak with me and offer advice throughout the clerkship application process.

I seem to remember reading here before that it is generally considered poor form to speak with a judge about the process, and then not to apply to said judge. But how far does this go? Both judges are feeders, while I am borderline top-10% at a lower T14, so while I would obviously jump at the opportunity to work with either judge, I would rather save their time and my application slot if I am not going to be remotely competitive. What's the protocol here? Do I just not apply given how far out of their usual range I seem to fall? Do I just ask straight-up whether they would prefer for me to apply? Even if I can't clerk for them, I would still like to maintain a positive relationship with these judges so am looking to avoid any unforced errors here.

The judge(s) know you're looking - be honest. Besides, top 10% in lower T14 is still respectable. Work it. Clarence Thomas hires, bro